Program summary

Reality Bites: Our BoysMohamed and Thong

The final episode of Our Boys, the documentary series about Canterbury Boys High School, follows two very different students through their last rollercoaster year, on Tuesday March 2 at 8pm on ABC TV.

Filmed over a school year, Our Boys tells the personal stories of today's public education system - a school 'starved of funds', with boys 'at risk' and teachers going far beyond their traditional classroom roles.

It's the year of the HSC - the Higher School Certificate. This week meet Thong, a Vietnamese migrant who is studious and under intense pressure from his mother to achieve the marks to study medicine at university. Mohamed is a Lebanese Muslim who hates academic subjects and is often in trouble at school.

Their teachers are nervous, and for different reasons. Thong promises to do extremely well in science and maths, but his poor English threatens to derail some big dreams. Mohamed presents other challenges. There's the delicate task of steering a highly politicised boy through music and photography. Mohamed holds strong views on Islam and the West, the 'evil' nature of the United States and Israel, all of which are expressed in his lyrics and pictures.

He's sensitive to any perceived slurs on his Muslim-Lebanese identity, which leads to an incident with a teacher from another school at the Zone Sports Carnival. The final exams are looming. Thong can't sleep, and Mohamed faces a long suspension, which may prevent him getting his HSC.

Production Details

Our Boys is a Maidstone Films production, in association with ABC TV. Financed by the Film Finance Corporation, Australia. The producer and director is Kerry Brewster. The co-producer and editor is Andrea Lang. The executive producers are Dasha Ross and David Jowsey.